Providing employment to all unskilled job seekers in the rural area.

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In the 1960s, while the State was facing problems of poverty and unemployment, certain employment generation programmes like Rural Works Programme, Crash Scheme for Rural Employment Programme, Pilot Intensive Rural Employment Programme, Area Development Programme like D.P.A.P. and programmes designed for rendering assistance to small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers and rural artisans were implemented on a relatively limited scale and therefore could not make an effective dent on the problem of reducing unemployment in the rural areas. Later, programmes of soil and water conservation measure, major and medium irrigation projects and rural electrification programmes, etc were taken, but owing to resources constraints they, too, could not make a significant impact on the problem of reducing unemployment in the rural areas. Therefore, with a view to alleviating poverty by providing gainful employment to the poorer sections of the community in the rural area as well as in 'C' class municipal councils in the State of Maharashtra, a new scheme, which popularly came to be known as the Employment Guarantee Scheme was started. The State Government gave statutory support to the guarantee of employment through the enactment of the Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Act, 1977, which was brought into force from 26 January 1979.

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AIMS & OBJECTIVES OF THE SCHEME

The principal aim of the Employment Guarantee Scheme is to provide gainful and productive employment to the people in the rural areas and in the areas of 'C' class Municipal Councils, who are in need of work and are prepared to do manual labour but cannot find it on their own. The employment has to be gainful to the individual and productive to the economy of the States. The guarantee to provide work has been restricted to unskilled manual work. The fundamental objective of the scheme is that on completion of the works undertaken, some durable community assets should be generated and that the wages paid to the workers should be linked with the quantity of work done.

The statistics relevant to employment in rural areas of the state as per 2001 census is as under:-

(a) No. of districts: 35
(b) No. of districts in which EGS is implemented: 33 (excluding Mumbai City District and Mumbai Suburban District)
(c) No. of Tahsils: 353
(d) No. of Tahsils in which EGS is implemented: 350
(e) No. of Blocks: 298
(f) No. of 'C' Class Municipalities: 162
(g) No. of villages (2001 census): 40,412
(h) Total population of the State (2001 census): 9.67 crore
(i) Total rural population: 5.57 crore
(j) % of rural population to total population: 58
(k) No. of small farmers (1 to 2 Ha): 31.7 lakh
(l) No. of marginal farmers (up to 1 Ha): 42.6 lakh
(m) No. of Agriculture labourers: 83.1 lakh
(n) No. of rural families below poverty line: 19.4 lakh
(o) Total No. of labourers registered: 42 lakh.

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SALIENT FEATURES

1. All adult persons residing in villages and 'C' class Municipal council areas are covered under this programme. However, a person who is more than 15 years old but less than 18 years can also be given employment under this scheme if there is no earning member in the family.
2. The guarantee is given at the district level. The person demanding the work has no choice of particular work. The guarantee is to provide work anywhere in the district, though operationally works are normally provided within the panchayat samiti area. As far as possible, work is provided to the employment seeker within a radius of 5 km of his residence.
3. The works are implemented through various Government Departments such as Irrigation, Public Works, Agriculture, Forest and local bodies, viz., Zilla Parishads. They are called implementing agencies.
4. The employment seeker has to get his name registered under this scheme with the Registering authority of the village, i.e. Talathis / Gramsevak by filling Form 1 prescribed under rules. Thereafter he / she has to ask for employment under Employment Guarantee Scheme from the Samiti Officer (i.e. Tahsildar) or from Registering authority in the concerned villages by filling up Form 4. The Samiti officer has to provide work under the scheme within 15 days after the receipt of application in Form 4, i.e. demand for work. The employment seeker is required to declare that he will work for a continuous period of at least 30 days on the work to which the Samiti Officer has directed. The Samiti Officer directs the employment seeker to the implementing agency of the work by giving the employment seeker directive in Form 7. The implementing agency has to employ the person. On the work, if the person presents himself on work within 7 days of the receipt of the letter issued by the Samiti Officer. Failure to provide employment creates the liability on the State Government for payment of unemployment allowance at the rate of Rs 10 per day.

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